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Jeni and Billy – Fabulous Fasionable Ferndale House Concert – Fri. Mar 27, 2015

We are pleased and excited to present Jeni and Billy.  I met Jeni and Billy at Highlander Center in New Market, TN.

About JENI & BILLY — Acclaimed “new old music” drawn from country, Appalachian, bluegrass, country blues and folk. Great story telling. Stirring harmonies, absorbing original lyrics and a sparse, engaging sound. Guitar, banjo, harmonica, autoharp.

Check them out at their website – http://jeniandbilly.com

Suggested donation $15, sliding scale 10-20, no one turned away for inability to pay.  All donations go to Jeni and Billy.

Space is limited so please RSVP.

Jeni tells a story about going to heaven (Las Vegas):

Note that the intro is longer than the song:

 

Steve Deasy will perform a short set.

Email me at stevedeasy@hotmail.com or call 248-990-5268 for information, address and directions and/or to RSVP

20 Million Things – Recording in Progress

I thought it might be interesting to some of you if I were to make a post and keep adding to it as I progress recording a track for the new CD I am starting today.  You can follow the progress by checking this page regularly.

For the first song, I choose “20 Million Things” written by Lowell George and J. Levy circa 1979.

When I start a recording, I usually know where I am heading.  I usually have a plan.  Plans are subject to change, but you start with a plan. On this track, I will play:

  1. piano (stereo)
  2. acoustic guitar in standard tuning
  3. a second acoustic guitar capo on 5th fret
  4. bass guitar
  5. program a drum track (stereo)
  6. lead vocal
  7. backup vocal (doubled)

I start by creating a project in pro tools, and choosing a tempo.  For this track I chose 60 beats per minute.  Tonight was step one which consists of the piano track and a scratch vocal.  The scratch vocal is rough and just a placeholder for the song.  I do  it in one take and don’t sweat about the quality of it.  This is because I generally find it best to lay down the vocals when the instrument tracks are complete and the song has more energy.  That way the vocals can more closely match the final arrangement.

Audio for Dec 1, 2014:

Karen Brandow, Presente!

Charlie King, Steve Deasy and Karen Brandow at Great Labor Arts Exchange, Detroit, 2010
Charlie King, Steve Deasy and Karen Brandow at Great Labor Arts Exchange, Detroit, 2010

Karen Brandow died last night.  I share with you the words of her partner Charlie King, which express how many of us feel in this moment.

Rest in peace, Karen Brandow (1954-2014)

Charlie’s prayer:

GD bless Karen. Thank you for the gift of her life and welcome her home. Comfort those of us who have loved her. Stir up her spirit in our midst so that the good she left undone may be done by us. Karen Brandow, Presente!

Steve Deasy – People’s Voice Cafe in NYC – Oct. 11, 2014

Singer-songwriter Steve Deasy live at Off the Wall Acoustic Coffeehouse
Singer-songwriter Steve Deasy live at Off the Wall Acoustic Coffeehouse

Steve will be playing at Peoples Voice Cafe in NYC on October 11, 2013. You can find out more about the evening here.

Steve is excited to sharing the evening with Paul Stein and Filthy Rotten System. You can find out more information about Paul Stein at wikipedia or at Paul’s website

Health care in the land of the greed.

Despite all the fear mongering some politicians and pundits have been flinging about, I am happy today that the Backwards States of America have taken a step towards nationalized healthcare. I admit, I am as disappointed as anyone about Obamacare, but my disappointment is that it is not single payer, like many civilized countries have. Instead, it is a kind of bastardized “affordable” care, which may have been the only thing possible given the insurance, pharmaceutical, and medical industry lobbies which buy off our government representatives. It was all that could be accomplished in the “land of the greed”.

However, today I am happy, because my adult son, who has not had health care insurance for about 10 years, now has it, and it was indeed affordable. Like many slimy employers in the land of the greed, his would pay the fines for not covering employees until the cost of the fines exceed the cost of the insurance. To them it is a simple business decision. That is what these fine folks (read greedy bastards) think of their employees.

I watched one by one as my children left college and were immediately summarily dismissed from my health insurance and thrust into a jobless economy. People with little resources trying to start out have no insurance, and must work for employers like Walmart that limit employee hours so they don’t have to pay benefits of any kind. I think people wax nostalgic for some long ago time, when employment was full (provided you are white), life wholesome, and you had a job for life with benefits and a pension. This no longer exists, if it ever did. It is just harder to pretend that it does today, even if you believe the US brand of capitalism works.

Since it doesn’t, let’s move toward a living minimum wage and single payer health insurance. That way, even if they “bestshore” the production, folks in the sales and delivery chain can make a decent living with buying power and fuel the economy.